Where the Ice is Red
by Deazier
Summary: A no-nonsense, up-and-coming DEA agent is sent to Detroit to put an end to the rising Red Ice epidemic. When her case collides with the DCPD deviancy investigation, she teams up with an old friend and an android sent by CyberLife to stop the streets from flooding red and save a city at the brink of war.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Welcome to "Where the Ice is Red"! The events of this fic will take place during and post-Detroit: Become Human's timeline. Semi-Canon + Spoilers ahead. Rated M for language and adult content. Enjoy!

 **Theme Song:** Wreak Havoc by Skylar Grey

 **Disclaimer:** The characters of Detroit: Become Human are the property of Quantic Dream.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

It started with a phone call. Three rings cut through the quiet apartment. They were insistent, echoing over the steady rain drizzling against the panoramic windows. A gentle blue light blinked in the darkness. The small display on the nightstand turned on, showing an alert.

 _Incoming call from AGENT CAMERON DAVIS_

An arm reached from beneath the warm goose down comforter, which draped across the king-sized bed in a rumpled heap. Black painted fingertips tapped on the glowing screen to answer.

"Parker?" A digital voice cued through the speaker.

An irritated groan replied.

"Get up, Quinn." The male on the other end coerced. "Homicide at 6143 Pines. There's Red Ice at the scene."

"Fuck," she sighed into her pillow before rolling onto her back. She sat up against the headboard, loosening her stiff muscles in a lazy stretch.

"I know. DCPD's already down here. Hope you didn't have a big dinner. It's pretty gruesome."

"Oh, fun." Quinn scoffed, "Just how I like 'em." She tossed her covers to the side and pushed herself off the bed. A soft light brightened the room when her feet touched the hardwood floors, detecting her movement. "All right, give me 15," she replied, ending the call. She went to her closet, sliding open the frosted glass doors. A quick glance into her wardrobe revealed an ample array of black and dark grey apparel. She slipped into her favorite tactical stretch pants before tying on one of the dozen pairs of polished military boots.

Like clockwork, her heavy steps attracted the attention of her 75-pound German Shepherd. He trotted over from his usual sleeping spot in the living room to check on his owner. A gentle whine vocalized his curiosity. The silver tag hanging from his leather collar glinted against her bedroom light, showing that his name was Bentley. She reached down to soothe his worries, petting his soft fur.

"I'll be back," she promised.

She walked out the front door, pulling on her holster and a heavyweight, nylon shell jacket with 'DEA' embroidered in white block letters across the back.

* * *

 **DATE / TIME  
NOV 5TH, 2038 / PM 11:45:07**

"You all right there, Detective?" Quinn asked. She flashed her badge at the PC200 android guarding the police line before walking through the holographic 'DO NOT CROSS' barrier.

Detective Ben Collins stood outside an abandoned shack. It was one you'd find in the zombie apocalypse. Red and blue lights illuminated the crumbling wooden exterior, the neglected front lawn, and the nauseated look on his face.

"Evenin' Special Agent Parker," Collins greeted, swallowing his queasiness. "Had to get some air."

"I can imagine," she replied, frowning as the stench of a decomposed body crept towards her. "19 days is a long time to stew."

"I see Special Agent Davis already debriefed you," Collins remarked. He intentionally ignored her choice of words. "He's already in there doing his walk-through. Help yourself, dear."

"Thank you, sir," Quinn nodded. She gave the older gentleman a warm smile and a reassuring pat on the back before heading inside.

Detroit cops and crime scene investigators swarmed the small den. The combination of rain, garbage, mold, and rotten wood ( _on top_ of ten sweaty cops and a 280-pound carcass) produced an odor that should've knocked her unconscious.

"Welcome to the party!" A taller man with short chestnut-brown hair approached her. His arms opened wide as if he were rolling out the red carpet. She could see his cheeky grin under the white surgical mask that covered his mouth and nose. He was the only other officer wearing a DEA jacket.

"All we need are a few of those sex 'droids and _boom_ we're in Eden Club," she snickered. She grabbed the spare mask he offered and pulled the elastic bands around her ears. She noticed evidence marker 3 on the television stand and bent down to take a closer look at the pile of Red Ice.

"Speaking of androids," her partner trailed off, glancing towards the kitchen. He leaned against the frame of a crumbling bookshelf. "Did you check out RoboCop over there?"

She narrowed her eyes, putting on a latex glove to examine the red crystals. They were faded, an indication of potency loss. "Yeah, saw it when I came in," she replied, unconcerned. "That neon blue nightlight sure is blinding." She stood back up, her priority was to scan for any drug paraphernalia nearby. There was a glass bong and several pipes scattered around. She also spotted an amber Boston round bottle with a red cap. It was knocked over on the carpet near the armchair next to the victim. "Cam, does that look familiar to you?" She asked, tilting her chin up in the direction of the surreptitious bottle.

"Ah, shit," Cam confirmed.

It was infamously used to store Red Ice. Which meant Ortiz had the same supplier.

"Fuckin' A," she sighed. Another dead junkie. The bodies were piling up. They were finding more and more incriminating evidence, but no crucial leads.

"Special Agent Parker," a recognizable voice called from across the living room.

"Officer Miller," Quinn replied, her words muffled by the face mask. She shook his outstretched hand.

"Glad to see you again. Thought you'd want to check this out," he said, handing her the tablet he was holding.

"Full analysis on the narcotics," she commented, nodding her head in approval, "Impressive. Thanks, Chris."

"Of course. Lieutenant Anderson requested it. I figured it'd also be useful for your investigation."

"Wait," Quinn paused, tilting her head to the side. "Anderson?"

The nostalgia almost floored her. Hank Anderson himself stepped out from the kitchen. He was grizzlier than she remembered and reeked of whiskey. But he was, without a doubt, the same grumpy old man she knew and loved growing up. She couldn't believe her luck.

"Well, I'll be fucking damned. Quinn Parker."

Quinn pulled down her mask so it sat around her neck. "Jesus Christ, Hank. I didn't know you were still with DPD."

Hank laughed bitterly at that. "Still here. Still kickin'. How's your dad doin'? When's he gonna leave that rat-infested city of Chicago and move back to Detroit?"

"He's doing better," She chuckled softly. "Never. The old man is living the dream. KNC did a feel-good segment at his bakery a few months back. They're getting popular."

Hank gave her the warmest smile she'd seen from him in years. "That's great to hear, kid. Well, sorry we had to reunite under such…unpleasant circumstances. Agent Davis here was telling me that you're cracking down on the Red Ice epidemic. Drug Enforcement Administration, huh? Shoulda known that's where you'd end up."

Before she could respond, the android that they noticed earlier walked up to them.

"Lieutenant, I think I've figured out what happened."

It seemed… eager.

"Oh yeah?" Hank asked, shifting his attention to RoboCop. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes like a school girl. He couldn't have been more uninterested, even if he tried. "Shoot. I'm all ears."

The two DEA agents looked at each other, Quinn raising an eyebrow in curiosity. They listened intently to the android detective's deduction, watching as it walked Hank through the altercation that ultimately led to Carlos Ortiz's demise. She looked over to the bloody letters on the wall. Written in perfect, robotic script. How realistic was it for these machines to develop a consciousness? Was it possible for them to feel something as rife as anger and rage? And then knowingly commit such a passionate crime?

"Okay," Hank graciously admitted. "Your theory's not totally ridiculous, but it doesn't tell us where the android went."

Quinn eyed the android during the entire interaction. She wondered if it too could become deviant. It seemed incredibly advanced compared to the other models she's worked with. The ability to reconstruct and recreate events didn't go over her head. More complex algorithms and coding. More human-like. An error in a program like that was pretty much an open door with a welcome mat to deviancy.

"It was damaged by the bat and lost some Thirium."

The DEA agents perked up at that. Quinn's attention was now fully on the machine.

"Lost some what?" Hank asked.

"Thirium," she repeated in unison with it, not realizing she had spoken out loud until she noticed Hank, Cam, and the android all looking at her.

"That's right," it acknowledged before continuing. "You call it Blue Blood. It's the fluid that powers androids' biocomponents. It evaporates after a few hours and becomes invisible to the naked eye."

"Oh…" Hank grinned, pointing at his robotic partner with an accusing finger. "But I bet you can still see it, can't you?"

"Correct," the android confirmed before turning away to continue his search.

Cam leaned over to Quinn once the detectives wandered off. "Think RoboCop could help with our case?" He asked, his voice low enough so only she could hear.

She peered into the hallway where she saw the android following an invisible trail. It wavered briefly as soon as she glanced over, as if it felt her watching. And for a moment, they locked eyes. That intense stare. What did she just see? Was that emotion? Determination?

More importantly, what did _it_ see?

"A CyberLife android that can detect evaporated Thirium?" A small grin tugged at her lips. She looked down to the Red Ice, almost optimistically.

Agnus Dei. This thing could be useful after all.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Feedback and reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read! -D


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Welcome back! Chapter 2 is a long one, so please enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **DATE / TIME  
** **NOV 6TH, 2038/ AM 10:08:03**

The circles under Quinn's eyes were dark after last night's events. When they found Carlos Ortiz's android hiding in the attic, the detectives took it back to the station for interrogation. She and Cam stayed at the crime scene to work with the forensic investigators. They carefully finished tagging, logging, and collecting all the Red Ice evidence before sending it off to the DEA lab. This morning, Cam was over at the field office going through the evidence report and analyzing the lab results. Quinn, on the other hand, was across the street at the Detroit Police Department. She needed to debrief with Captain Jeffrey Fowler about the DEA's progress on the Red Ice case.

"Thanks for the update, Agent Parker," Captain Fowler called as Quinn exited his suite. "Let me know if there's anything else we can do to assist with the DEA's investigation."

She descended the small set of stairs, pretending not to notice the curious looks she was getting from the many on-duty personnel. She donned a different outfit from the night before. Her long, wavy brunette hair was pulled back into a tousled ponytail. She sported a bulletproof vest with a black, long-sleeved shirt underneath. Bold, yellow DEA letters were stitched across her back and a U.S. Special Agent badge was embroidered over her heart. Form-fitting tactical pants tucked into another pair of military boots to match. She hooked her thumbs beneath the shoulder pads of her vest and shifted the heavy armor into a more comfortable position.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice caught her attention over the chatter of the station. Quinn looked up to find the android from last night hovering over Hank's desk. "Do you know what time Lieutenant Anderson usually arrives?"

Officer Wilson, who sat a couple of workspaces away, tore his gaze from the security cam footage he was going through. "Depends on where he was the night before," He said with a hint of irritation. "If we're lucky, we'll see him before noon."

"Thanks," The android's face fell a bit in disappointment before it decided to sit down. It looked almost child-like, waiting patiently for its overseer to arrive. They were seriously upping the level of emotional simulation on these things.

Quinn didn't realize that she was walking towards Hank's desk. Not until those brown, corporate-manufactured eyes were much closer, blankly looking up at her. They were different from the ones she saw the night before. These were emotionless. Calculating. Like any other robot. And by the way it was staring, she assumed it was doing a thorough analysis scan on her.

"The Lieutenant isn't one for perfect attendance. I've always found it best to use my Hank-waiting-time productively," She commented with a small grin. "I'm Quinn Parker," She introduced, holding her hand out, "Special Agent with the DEA. Good work with that homicide last night. We could save a lot of lives if we had more of you helping to solve these crimes."

The android took her hand, its synthetic skin not as cold and plastic as she thought it would be. It felt as real as her own, which didn't alleviate her anxieties.

"Thank you, Special Agent Parker. It's nice to meet you," It replied, flashing its own friendly smile, "My name is Connor, I'm the android sent by Cyberlife. I've been assigned to assist Lieutenant Anderson in the deviancy case."

Quinn crossed her arms, examining Connor. "It's hard to believe that Hank got paired with an android for the deviancy case."

The android, which she decided she could safely refer to as a 'he,' now knowing his name, gave her a thoughtful look. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Agent Parker?"

She shook her head, not wanting to get ahead of herself. "I've known Hank a long time. He's a tough nut to crack, but he's just a warm teddy bear underneath all of that grizzly fur."

"I detected a history between you and the Lieutenant last night. Were you childhood friends?"

"Sort of," Quinn replied, glossing over his workspace to see if she could find the familiar photo. She spotted the picture frame leaning against the window of his desk, gently picking it up. "Ten years ago, Hank arrested the Red Ice dealer who shot my mother."

Connor's blue LED light turned yellow.

Her eyes glazed over as she stared at the group picture.

"My mom was an innocent bystander." Her voice softened. "She got pulled into the line of fire when a fight between two gangs escalated."

Quinn blinked, pulling herself from her daze as she placed the frame back down where she found it. "Hank was one of my dad's best friends. He inspired me to join the agency. If it wasn't for him and the Red Ice Task Force, our family wouldn't have gotten justice. Or closure."

"I'm sorry about your mother," Connor tried to empathize.

Before she could dismiss his condolences, the man of the hour finally decided to show. Imagine his surprise, seeing both Quinn and Connor waiting for him at his desk.

"Look who made it in," Quinn grinned as Hank narrowed his eyes warily at her. "Mornin', sunshine!"

Connor stood. "It's good to see you again, Lieutenant."

It was only 10 AM. These two nut jobs were already draining him of all the energy he'd mustered up for the day. "Ugh, Jesus," he sighed.

Unfortunately, this brief second of peace wouldn't last.

"Hank!" Nearly everyone at the station stopped what they were doing as Captain Fowler bellowed at the Lieutenant. "In my office!"

Quinn cringed. That was not going to be pretty.

"On that note," She muttered, watching Hank trudge through the Cap's door. "I'm grabbing some coffee."

She didn't realize how tired she was until she stepped into to the break room, leaving Connor to study up on Lieutenant Anderson. The warm, sweet roast coming from the espresso machine gave her the most promising embrace.

"Officer Chen," She greeted the other woman sitting at one of the high tables.

"Special Agent Parker," She replied with a smile.

Quinn pressed a few buttons on the coffee maker, praying that a large cup of caffeine would bring her back to life.

"Ho-ly fuck. Quinn god-damn Parker."

She turned her head, and it took everything in her to not recoil in disgust when she realized who it was.

"Gavin Reed," She addressed dully, taking a large gulp of her hot drink in an attempt to hide the scowl on her face. She should've made her coffee Irish. "Long time, no see."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He asked, those blue eyes wandering up and down her figure. Subtlety be damned. It took him a second to process her uniform. "And why the fuck are you wearing that?"

She tilted her head. He was serious.

"It's a little alarming that you don't know what a DEA agent looks like, Detective Reed."

Officer Chen and a couple of others nearby snickered.

"Yeah, well maybe you could show me?" He retorted, lowering his voice as he leaned into her. His warm breath made the hairs on her skin stand. "What a DEA agent looks like... _under_ that uniform."

This guy was unbelievable. He's always gotten off to using his rugged physique as an intimidation tactic. Before she could even get a decent quip back, movement caught her eye. Connor had wandered into the break room. Gavin noticed her attention elsewhere, following her gaze. His features turned dark when he realized she was staring at the machine.

"Fuck, look at that. Our friend the plastic detective is back in town!" He clapped his hands, sarcasm dripping from his words. Her grimace returned as she watched Gavin pester the poor android.

Connor turned to courteously greet Detective Reed.

Quinn raised her eyebrows in amusement, focusing on the android's facial reactions. Was he…annoyed?

Gavin swaggered over, asking Connor all sorts of irritating questions. It only took a couple of Connor's programmed response sequences for Gavin to start yelling at him to bring him coffee. She was pleasantly surprised when the RK800 refused.

And then, the son-of-a-bitch punched him.

"Stay out of my way," Gavin threatened. "Next time, you won't get off so easy."

"All right, enough," She slammed her mug down. "Back the fuck off, Reed," she spat, stepping in front of Connor to block any more assault. "Why don't you pick a fight with someone who could actually punch that pretty face of yours?" She whispered coolly, closing the space between them. Her vest brushed against his leather jacket. She dared him to move.

He looked conflicted as he clenched his jaw, having an unpleasant flashback. Most likely to their last altercation years ago, right before she left for college. A _Friends_ bonus episode: The One with Gavin's Black Eye. He glared as Quinn stepped back to guide the android up from the floor. He scoffed, shaking his head angrily before walking away.

"Sorry about him," She apologized, brushing some dust off the arm of Connor's jacket. "You can ignore anything that jackoff says."

"I'll make a note of that," Connor replied. He studied her. His LED turned yellow for a brief moment again as he watched her fix the knot in his tie. "Thank you."

Quinn didn't know where this strange _de rigueur_ to defend him was coming from. She cleared her throat, giving him warm smile.

"C'mon. Let's go bother the old man," She motioned over to Hank, who was finally sitting back at his desk. "Looks like the Cap is done chewin' him out."

* * *

 **DATE / TIME  
** **NOV 6TH, 2038/ AM 11:45:28**

Watching an android trying to befriend Hank Anderson was like watching Thor trying to convince the Hulk that they were on the same team. Connor was thrilled to join forces with such a decorated officer. His pureness was damn inspiring. Quinn nearly lost her shit when he offered for him and the Lieutenant to get to know one another better. How could people not appreciate the entertainment value of an android? She rolled her eyes when she saw Hank cross his arms in a huff, doing his best to be a grump and ignore his enthusiastic partner.

"Would you stop being such a crab," She nudged the old man from behind, leaning against the glass barrier of his cube. Hank murmured something unintelligent under his breath in reply.

"Don't you have some Red Ice leads to be following up on?" He grumbled at her, turning to his computer. Quinn sighed as Connor walked away to the empty desk that Hank told him wasn't being used. It was pointless when Hank was in one of his moods. And the man was _always_ in one of his moods.

But, Connor was only warming up.

He fired off some questions that were clear observations from his partner's desk. He analyzed Sumo's hairs on his chair. He dropped Denton Carter's shooting percentage from yesterday's Detroit Gears game. He even listened to the heavy metal album on his music player. Hank really had to give him an A+ for effort.

It was only a matter of time before things started taking a wrong turn. Connor just _had_ to ask.

"Is there any reason, in particular, you despise me?"

Hank instantly became unpleasant, even more so than before. Quinn felt the need to intervene. Again.

"Connor?" She called, diverting his attention. Connor tried to hide his disappointment. His attempt at progressing his relationship with the Lieutenant clearly wasn't going according to plan. "Would you mind pulling up the deviant files? We should take a look at them." She asked politely.

"Of course, Agent Parker," He replied, shifting his attention to the terminal on his desk. Quinn made her way from Hank's side to Connor's. She noted the skin around his hand deactivating as he interfaced with the computer. They began scrolling through the case files. Connor studied any deviant-related details as Quinn searched for any Red Ice associations.

The first report he accessed was for Gordon Lopez's missing AL android, back in October. Then, there was the Fast Coney Dogs fiasco on Chamberlain with the AV500 waiter. Next was the AP700 that trashed Sarah Cornwal's house. After that was Floyd Mills' M.I.A. WR400 sex-bot.

"Wait," She had Connor stop at the next file. She leaned in, re-reading the victim's name. "Hank, did you see this report that came in last night? An unknown android attempted to murder Leo Manfred at his dad's house."

The lieutenant glanced up from his screen, judging her with his hard stare.

"Don't look at me like that," She groaned. "We dated in high school. From what I've heard, he hasn't changed much since. Plus, he's not my type these days."

"Quinn," Hank started, "I don't think-"

"If he's still connected to that network, I need to at least try and figure out if he knows anything. He's one of a handful of deviant-related victims with a link to this drug that's still _alive_. Connor, how many deviant files do we have on record to date?"

"243 files," Connor replied, looking disturbed as he scanned the rest of the reports. "The first dates back nine months. It all started in Detroit… And quickly spread across the country."

She's been running undercover investigations from the DEA's Detroit Field Office since February; when it all began. This was her first hint of a real lead.

Hank propped his elbow onto his desk, resting his face against his balled fist.

"An AX400 is also reported to have assaulted a man last night. That could be a good starting point for our investigation while Quinn looks into this possible Red Ice trail from the Manfred case."

Connor stood, walking over to Anderson. Quinn took the opportunity to double-back into the Manfred file, checking to see if Carl's address was still the same. She loaded a copy of the report onto her hand-held device.

"Ugh, Jesus," Hank sighed again, turning away from the android.

"I know you didn't ask for this investigation, Lieutenant, but I'm sure you're a professional."

The balls on this machine. Even she knew better than to call out Hank's issues to his face. She kept her lips sealed, aware of exactly what was coming next. These two really needed to look into DPD's counseling resources.

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" Hank scolded.

"I've been assigned this mission, Lieutenant. I didn't come here to wait until you feel like working."

She sighed when Hank shot up from his chair and double-fisted Connor's perfectly ironed lapels. He threw the android against the wall of his cube. Hank berated him with a string of insults. He started to threaten him, promising to toss him into a dumpster fire, when someone walked up to finally intervene. The ever-composed Officer Chris Miller diffused the situation with an urgent update.

"Sorry to disturb you," Chris apologized, glancing at Quinn. She looked at him gratefully for the intrusion. "I have some information on the AX400 that attacked the guy last night. It's been seen in the Ravendale district."

"They're on it," Quinn piped up, ignoring the anger radiating from Hank. She turned to the two, deciding it was time to flip the switch. Her demeanor changed. Her words became harsh. Her tone irate and antagonizing. "Todd Williams was attacked by this AX400. An android fugitive is still at large, along with many others like it. Get your shit together and. _Track. It. Down_. Before it gets out of hand and decides to hurt anyone else."

Hank's belly-aching immediately stopped. He almost forgot that she was a federal investigator. Hell, that attitude could rival Fowler's from the gawks she was receiving around the room. Even smug Gavin looked pretty apprehensive, maybe even a little aroused. Hank exhaled heavily, releasing his grasp on Connor before heading out of the station without another word.

Connor looked after him, re-adjusting his jacket. He then turned to thank Quinn again. She was a good ally. "Where will you be going?" He asked as she downloaded Leo Manfred's rap sheet and public records from the past decade onto her device.

"Carl Manfred's house," She replied. "I'll see if I can follow-up on the incident with his father before heading to the hospital." She noticed Connor's discouraged gaze. "I know Hank's a little rough around the edges. Give it some time." She leaned in towards him. "Nothing a good old Chicken Feed burger and a bottle of malt whiskey can't fix." She winked. She then turned to the lobby, exiting through the sliding doors. The android stared after her, almost admirably.

She took in a deep breath once she got outside. Slipping her device into her pocket, she tightened her ponytail and made her way towards Lafayette Avenue. She was going to need a lot more coffee.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for taking the time to read! As always, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated. Tune in next week for Chapter 3!


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